Paper-bag machine.



No. 742,205. PATENTED OCT, 27 1903.

W. A. LORENZ.

- PAPER BAG MACHINE.

APPLIGATIOR FILED MAR. 25. 1903. I N0 MODEL. 5 SIIYEETS -SHEET 1.

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PATENTED OCT. 27., 1903.

W. A. LORENZ. PAPER BAG MACHINE.

APPLIOATION:IILED"MA.R. 25, 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

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No. 742,205. PATENTED 001?. 27, 1903. W. A. LORENZ.

PAPER BAG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3..

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No. 742,205. PATENTED 001". 27, 1903.

' W. A. LORENZ.

PAPER BAG MACHINE.

APPLIOATIDN FILED MAR, 25, 1903. N0 MODEL. 5 SHBETS-SHEET 4.

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No 742,205. PATENTED 001". 27, 1903."

W. A. LORENZ.

PAPER. BAG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25.1903.

N0 MODEL.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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UNrTEI) STATES A wILLIAM A. LORENZ, or HARTFORD, PAPER BAG MACHINECOMPANY,

Fatented October 27, 1903*.

CoN'NEC'rICU'r, ASSIGNOR TO UNION on PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL NIA,

A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

. PAPER-BAG MACHINE.

sPECIPICA'rION forming part of Letters Patent No. 742,205, dated October27, 1903.

Application filed March 25, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and Statebellows-sided paper bags or paper-bag blanks certain reversed folds,which are shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States toH. M. Farnsworth, No. 355,010, so that when the bag is opened for usethese I particular folds will turn outwardly instead of inwardly, andthus present a funnel-shaped mouth for the more ready reception of thecontents of the bag. These folds also assist in maintaining the mouth ofthe bagin an open condition. For this purpose the upper or mouth ends ofthe inWardIy tucked bellows-plies of the blank are turned outwardly, theinnermost bellows-fold lines being re-' versed and swung outwardly topositions approximately ninety degrees from their former positions.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for separating thebellows sides of the blank, near the month end thereof, to facilitatethe proper engagement of the grip ping devices with the upper and lowerplies of the tucked-in bellows sides.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for positioningor centralizing the month end of the blank upon the blank-support tofacilitate the symmetrical formation of the funnel folds on the blank.

This invention may be embodied in an independent machineby providing itwith a suitable driving mechanism and by providing means for feeding theblanks or bags to it in proper sequence and registerybut I prefer toemhodythe invention in amachine which operates in conj nnction withmechanism for folding the bottoms of paper bags from bellowssidedblanks, thus embodying in a single organization'an automatic machine forrapidly -reverse thesaid fold-line and prevent it from Seria1N0-l49,53Z(No model.)

ing these funnel folds. When thus employed 'in such an organization, themachine of my present invention may perform its operations before thebottom of the bag has been formed,- or it may, as herein shown, receivethe bags after the bottom-forming mechanism has completed the bottomfolds, or both operations may beperformed simultaneously. The machine ofthe present invention produces these funnel folds by first gripping theedges of each of the four plies of the tucked bellows sides of the blankand then folding one of the flat side walls of the blank over atransverselydisposed defining edge, thereby opening the mouth ends ofthe tucked bellows sides into flattened triangular folds. A blade,herein designated as the reversing-blade, is then brought across thecenters of the triangular folds into approximate coincidence with whatwere formerly the inner bellows-fold lines, upon which lines each of thetriangular folds is then doubled upon itself by the turning back andstraightening out of the foldedover side wall, the reversing-bladeserving to returning to its original position.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan view of a machine embodying myinvention. Fig. 2

is an end view thereof lookingfrom the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sideview in section taken partly on the line 3 3 and partly on the line 3" 3of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end view in section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 3.Figs. 5 to 13, inclusive, are more detail views in larger scale,showingthe fold-forming devices in different positions. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 showthe v relative positions of these parts when the grippers have beenbrought into engagementwiththe blank. Figs. 8 and 9 show the samepartsin their positions after the grippers have been revolved nearly onehundred andeighty degrees from their position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 orfar enough to open the tucked sides into substantially fiat triangularfolds. Figs.

way of their return movement. Fig. 14 shows in detail and on a furtherenlarged scale the grippers about to engage the blank after the bellowssides thereof have been partially distended and the grippers have beenmoved to their inner positions. Figs. l5, l6, and 17 are perspectiveviews showing the month end of a bag or blank in different stages of thefunnel-folding operation. Fig. 15 shows the bellows sides slightlydistended to permit the grippers to enter. Fig. 16 shows the lower plyfolded back to the position in which the flat triangular folds areformed; and Fig. 17 shows the funnel-mouth folds completed, but stillslightly distended, in order to enable the character of the folds to bemore clearly seen.

When employed in conjunction with a paperbag machine, the mechanismshown in the drawings may be directly operated from the drivingmechanism of the paper-bag machine, so that the feed-rolls of thepresent mechanism may be considered as equivalents of or substitutes forthe delivery-rolls of such paper-bag machines.

To the base-plate 20 is secured a pair of uprights or side frames 21 22,in which the mechanism is journaled or otherwise supported. The blanksare fed into the machine by a pair of feed-rolls 23 and 24, the lowerone 21L of which is mounted on a shaft 25, journaled in the side framesand carrying at one end thereof a gear 26, which is driven from anysuitable gear of the paper-bag machine with which the present mechanismmay be connected. The roll 23 is mounted upon a shaft 27, journaled inthe spring-pressed boxes 28 and 29, supported in the side frames 21 22,respectively, and has fixed upon it the gear 30, meshing with the gear26. The paper bag or blank B after passing through the feed-rolls Qat isdelivered to a rotating blank-support 31, which is approximatelycylindrical and is mounted on the shaft 32, journaled in bearings 33 34and having a gear 35, driven from the gear 26 through the intermediategear 36, turning upon a stud 37 appurtenant to the frame 21. Theblank-support is herein shown of a size suitable for receiving twoblanks during each rotation and is therefore provided with two sets ofblank holding and folding devices which operate alternately on thesucceeding blanks. These two sets of devices being similar inconstruction and operation, the following description of one set willanswer for both: As the blank passes from the rolls 23 2% to theblank'snpporhits leading end is gripped to the latter by a clip 38 onthe shaft 39, journaled on the blank-support and having an arm 40engaging with the cam-face 41 of a stationary cam 42, which ispreferably se' cured to the bearing 3%, a spring 13 serving to close theclip upon the blank. As the blank is carried forward by the support 31,a set of grippers engage with the upper and lower plies of the blank, onopposite'sides thereof and toward the rearward or month end of theblank, one pair of grippers being employed for sustaining the upperplies, while the second pair of grippers seize the lower plies and foldthem with the lower side wall of the blank around the projectingdefining edge 83 of the blank-support, thereby forming a flat triangularfold in the end of each of the bellows sides of the blank. In order toenable the grippers to engage with and disengage from the blank, bothsets of grippers are mounted for movement toward and away from eachother laterally of the blank, the construction and operation of bothsets being alike and as follows: Disposed at opposite sides of theblank-support 31 are the brackets 44, constituting ways for thegripper-slides 4:5, to which a reciprocating movement is imparted atsuitable times by the cam-grooves 46 in the cams -12 engaging theprojections or rollers 47 of the slides. Each of the upper grippers,Fig. 14-, comprises a sustaining-jaw 48 and a pincer 49, which latter ispivoted to the sustaining-jaw at 50 and is actuated by a spring 51, thegripper in its entiretybeing secured to the swinging end of the shaft52, journaled in a sleeve 53, which in turn is journaled in the slide45. The axes of the shafts 52 are in approximate alinement with thedefining edge 83 of the blank-support. The outer end of the shaft 52carries an arm 51,having a projection 55 engaging with the stationarycam 56, the function of which is to open the upper gripper by turningthe shaft 52, and thereby bringing the heel 57 of the pincer 49 againstthe under side of the stop 58 appurtenant to the slide a5. The spring 59bears upon the arm 54 and serves to turn the shaft 52 until theprojection 60 of the sustaining-jaw rests upon the upper surface of thelug 61, also appurtenant to the slide 45, thereby permitting the spring51 to close the pincer 49 against the sustaining-jaw 48, thus grippingthe upper ply of the blank between them, as in Fig. 7. The function ofthe lower pair of grippers, Fig. 14, is to cooperate with the upper pairof grippers in swinging the lower plies of the tucked sides and theadjacent side wall of the blank over and around the defining edge 83 toform flat triangular folds in the mouth ends of the tucked sidespreparatory to doubling those folds upon themselves along the reversedtransverse center line of those folds, which doubling is performed bythe return swinging movement of the lower pair of grippers cooperatingwith the reversingblade 85. The lower jaw 62 is formed on an arm 63appurtenant to'the sleeve 53, and the pincer 64: is pivoted at 65 on thejaw 62. A spring 66 acting against the heel 67 of the pincer serves toclose the pincer toward the jaw to grip the edges of the lower ply between them, a pair of these lower grippers being employed for each edgeof the blank, Fig. 7. Each of these grippers is opened '69, pivoted at70 to the slide 45 and having an arm 71, the projection 72 ofwhichengages with a stationary cam 73, mounted upon the bearing 34.

In order to enable the several grippers to seize the plies of the blankto the same extent on both sides, and thus enable symmetrical folds tobe produced, means are provided for positioning the mouth end of theblank centrally-of the blank-support. These means consist of the pushers74 75, attached to the jaws 48 and 62, respectively. As these jawsapproach the blank from their respective sides thereof, the pushersengage with one or the other of the edges of a misplaced or displacedblank, pushing it into a central position before the grippers close uponthe blank. 7

Means are provided for partially distending the plies of the blank tofacilitate the entrance of the grippers into the tucked sides, as shownin Figs. 1 and 3. plate 76 for conducting the blank from the feed-rollsto the blank-support is shown as forming the upper wall of a suction-box77, having perforations 78 communicating with the interior of the box.The upper feed-roll 23 is also preferably made hollow to serve as asuction-roll, and the roll and box 77 together constitute a suctiondevice for drawing apart the mouth ends of the side walls of theblank,,so as to separate the plies of the corresponding portions of thebellows sides. The shaft 27, upon which the roll 23 is mounted, istubular and is connected with the main pipe 80 by means of a branch pipe81. The air is exhausted simultaneouslyfrom'the suction-box and thefeed-roll, suitable means being provided for producing a vacuum in themain pipesuch means, for example, as is shown in my Letters Patent No.591,175. In order to produce a symmetrical form of fu nnel-mouth, theflat triangular folds should be doubled upon themselves along theirtransverse center line, which was originally a part of the inner orbottom fold-line of the bellows sides of the blank, the particularportion of this fold-line which crosses the fiat triangular folds beingreversed and forming the line upon which the triangular folds aredoubled upon themselves. In order to insure that the reversing anddoubling of the triangular folds shall take place along this line, Iprefer to employ a reversing-blade which is brought against the flattriangular folds across this transverse fold line, as shown in Figs. 10and 11, during the folding ing with the gear 35.

The guideoperation, thereby cooperating with andren-;

dering more certain the action of the swinging grippers. Thereversing-blade is secured upon an arm 86, which is pivotallysupportedupon a stud 87 of the blank-support 31, and is provided with a lever 88,having a projection 89 in engagement with a camgroove 90, the blade 85having'an arc of swing toward and away from the defining edge 83 of theblank-support, its movement being timed to cooperate with the swinginggrippers 62 in doubling the fiat triangular folds upon themselves tocomplete the funnel folds. v

Means are preferably provided for pressing the funnel folds together todefine them more completely after they are formed. The flattening-plate84 is secured to the cross-bar 97 adjacent to the'blank-support, and thefunnel folds are drawn under this plate, either while still held by thegrippers or after the grippers have been released, as may be preferred.The roll 92 is secured upon a shaft 93, journaled in the spring-pressedbearings 94, supported in the side frames 21 22, the shaft beingprovided with a gear 95, mesh- The roll 92 is pressed against theblank-support 31 and carries the blank forward over the stripper -plate96, which guides the blank from the carrier.

The operation of this machine as a whole is as follows: The blank Bpasses between the feed-rolls 23 24, which push it over the guideplate76 toward the blank-support 31, and its leading end is then gripped tothe cylinder by the clip 38. When the mouth end of the blank is over theperforations 78 of the suction-box 77, a vacuum is established in thebox and in the upper feed-roll 23, which latter moves substantially inunison with the blank and retains its hold upon the upper ply, while thelower ply adheres to the plate 76,-thus distending the bellows sides.The grippers are now in their outward open position, and the slides 45then move toward each other, thus carrying the grippers into engagingrelation with their respective plies of the blank to the positionshownin Fig. 14. The shafts 52 and sleeves 53 are now-rotatedsufficiently to permit the pincers 49 and 64 to be closed by theirrespective springs upon the plies, at which time the parts are in theposition illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and-7. The upper grippers 48 and 49remain in those positions while the lower pair of grippers are swunggrippers are then swung back toward their original positions, therebydoubling the triangular folds falongtheir transverse centers as definedby the reversing-blade, which remains in position until the triangularfolds are doubled far enough to insure the rover-- sal of the originalfold-lines. The reversingblade is then withdrawn to permit the continuedswinging movement of the lower grippers from the position shown in Fig.13 until the grippers return to the'position of Fig. 6, therebystraightening out the lower ply p, as shown in Fig. 17. At this time thefunnel folds are drawn beneath the flattening-plate 84:, which partiallyflattens those folds, preferably while they are still held by thegrippers. All grippers are now released from the blank, and the slides45 are moved out, thus withdrawing the grippers from the completedblank, after which the latter passes beneath the presser-rolls 92, bywhich the funnel folds are more sharply defined and flattened. The blankis then guided from the blanksupport by the stripperblade 96 incompleted form to suitable cai'ryingbelts, (not shown,) with its mouthend presenting substantially the appearance shown in Fig. 17.

The terms upper, lower, right, left, and similar terms denoting relativeposition are herein used in their relative and not their absolute sense,inasmuch as many of the parts may be reversed, inverted, or transposedin many ways that will be obvious to the mechanic or designer.

The mechanism herein shown and described may be modified as todimensions, amplitude of movement, and in many other obvious ways tosuit different sizes of bags or to suit various conditions of service.

I claim as my invention- 1. Means for forming the described funnel foldsin the mouth end of a bellows-sided bagblank, comprising ablank-support, a suction device movable with the blank for distendingthe mouth end of the bellows sides of the blank, means for sustainingone of the side walls of the blank, means for gripping the other sidewall thereof and folding it over to open the bellows sides into fiattriangular folds, and then unfolding the said side wall back to itsfirst position, and a cooperating reversing-blade for doubling the saidtriangular folds upon themselves.

2. Means for forming the described funnel foldsin the month end of abellows-sided bagblank, comprising a blank-support having a definingedge, means for gripping the mouth ends of the two side walls of theblank, means for moving the gripping means of one of the side walls tofold that wall around the defining edge to form fiat triangular folds inthe bellows sides, andfor unfolding the side wall to its first position,and a reversing-blade for cooperating in doubling said triangular folds.

3. Means for forming the described funnel folds in the mouth end ofabellows-sided bagblank, comprising a traveling blank-support having adefining edge, means for gripping the upper side wall of the blank,gripping devices for the lower side wall mounted to swing upon axessubstantially in alinement with the said defining edge, means forcarrying said gripping devices into and out of engagement with the edgesof the blank, and means for oscillating the swinging grippers upon thesaid axes to fold back their respective plies and then unfolding themagain.

t. Means for forming the described funnel folds in the mouth end ofabellows-sided bagblank comprising a traveling blank-support having adefining edge, a pair of gripping devices for gripping the upper pliesof the blank, a pair of gripping devices for the lower plies thereof,mounted for swinging movement upon the axes substantially in alinementwith said defining edge, means for moving the said gripping deviceslaterally into and out of engaging relation with the blank, and meansfor oscillating the swinging pair of gripping devices upon the said axesto fold over their respective plies, and then to unfold them again forthe purpose specified.

5. Means for forming the described funnel folds in the month end of abellows-sided bagblank comprising a traveling blank-support having adefining edge, a pair of oppositelydisposed grippers for gripping theupper bellows-plies of the blank, a pair of oppositelydisposed grippingdevices for the lower bellows plies thereof, mounted for swingingmovement upon axes substantially in alinement with said defining edge,means for moving the said gripping devices laterally into and out ofengaging relation to the blank, means for oscillating the swinginggrippers upon their axes to fold and then unfold their respective plies,and a reversing-blade for cooperating in doubling the fiat triangularfolds formed by the swinging movement of the grippers.

6. The combination of ablank-support having a defining edge, and aplurality of gripping devices for the plies of the blank, mounted forindependent swinging movement upon axes substantially coincident withsaid defining edge.

7. The combination-of a blank-support having a defining edge, aplurality of gripping devices for the plies of the blank, mounted forswinging movement independently of each other upon axes substantially inalinement with the said defining edge, and independent means forswinging each of the said gripping devices.

8. The combination of a traveling blanksupport having a defining edge,and gripping devioes for the respective plies of the blank, mounted uponthe traveling support, the said grippers for the respective plies beingmounted for independent swinging movement upon axes substantially inalinement with said defining edge.

9. The combination with a blank-support, of a gripper for the upper ply,and a gripper for the lower ply of the blank each mounted forindependent swinging movement, and each gripper comprising a jaw and acooperating pincer therefor, abutments for the respective pincers, andmeans for swinging the grippers to carry their respective pincersagainst and away from their respective abutments to open and close thegrippers.

10. The combination of a blank-support,a gripper for the upper ply and agripper for the lower ply, each mounted forindependent swinging movementupon an axis common to both, eachgripper comprising a jaw and acooperating pincer, abutments for the pincers, and means for swingingthe said grippers upon their common axis to carry the pincers againstand away from their respective abutments to open and close the grippers.

11. The combination of a blank-support, a gripper for the upper ply, anda gripper for the lower ply'of the blank, mounted for independentswinging movement upon a common axis, and mounted for axial movementtoward and from the blank, means for moving the grippers in the saidaxial direction, and means for independently swinging the grippers upontheir common axis.

12. The combination of a traveling blanksupport having a defining edge,a gripper for the upper ply and a gripper for the lower ply of theblank, each mounted upon theblanksupport for independent swingingmovement upon a common axis substantially in alinement with the saiddefining edge,and mounted also for movementin an axialdirection towardand from the blank, means for moving the said grippers in the said axialdirection, and means for independently swinging said grippers upon theiraxes at suitable times in the travel of the blank-support.

stantially in alinement with the said defining edge, and mounted alsofor movement in an axial direction toward and from the blank,

and cams disposed in a concentric relation to 14. The combination with ablank-support,

of a gripper for the upper ply and a gripper and the sleeve '53appurtenant to the said grippers respectively, mounted for oscillatorymovement upon a common axis, and means for oscillating the said shaftand sleeve.

15. The combination with a blank-support, of a gripper for the upper plyand a gripper for the lower ply of the blank, movable pincersappurtenant to the said grippers, abutments adjacent to the respectivepincers, a shaft 52 and a sleeve 53, appurtenant to the said grippersand mounted for oscillatory movement upon a common axis, and means forindependently swinging the shaft and the sleeve to move the pincers aainst and'away from their respective abutments to open and close thegrippers.

16. The combination with a blank-support, and with means for moving theleading end of the blank thereon, of gripping devices movable towardeach other to engage the 0pposite bellows sides of the blank, andpushers movable with said devices laterally of the carrier for centeringthe blank, thereon.

17. The combination with a blank-support having a defining edge, andmeans for bolding the leading end of the blank on said support, ofgrippers mounted for revolution around an axis substantially inalinement with said defining edge, and mounted to move transversely ofthe carriage, and pushers movable with said grippers for centering theblank upon the carrier.

'for the lower ply of the blank, the shaft'52 Signed at HartfordConnecticut, this 21st day of March, 1903. t

' WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

Witnesses:

J AS. W. GREEN, WM. H. HONISS.

